To meet federal and international regulations, certain marine vessels must have bow lights and a horn. The bow lights serve not only as marine vessel identifiers, but also as waterway traffic control devices. A combination bi color light is mounted on the bow of the boat. The bow lights are red and green; by regulation, the red bow light is mounted on the port (left) side of the boat and the green light is mounted on the starboard (right) side of the boat. Bow lights may be mounted on the bow deck or the boat hull sidewall near the bow. If mounted on the deck, the bow light generally consists of a one-half red and one-half green toned lens cap over a single light source. If mounted on the hull sidewalls, there is a single starboard side green lens cap and a single port side red lens cap mounted over separate lighting sources found in the sidewalls.
As traffic control devices, bow lights signal to a boat's driver whether he has the right of way or must yield to another boat in a given circumstance. For instance, if boat number one and boat number two are approaching each other from an angle wherein the driver of boat number one views boat number two off of his starboard side, the driver of boat number one will view a red light on boat number two and the driver of boat number two will view a green light on boat number one. Thus, the driver of boat number one knows that since he has seen a red light, he must yield the right of way to boat number two. Conversely, the driver of boat number two, seeing a green light on boat number one, knows that he has the right of way in this situation.
Horns also serve as safety devices and are governed by federal and international standards. Various United States and International standards govern the size, decibels, operating Hertz range, octaves, etc., for horns. The present inventive device can be adapted to meet the various regulations based on boat location, size and other pertinent factors. For illustration purposes, however, the general guidelines set forth by the American Boat and Yacht Council, Inc. are instructive. Horns for vessels under 5 meters in length have no strict frequency requirements. However, a horn for these vessels should be capable of producing a continuous sound at the equivalent of 98 db at least 1 meter from the sound source for a period of 4 seconds at an ambient temperature of 77.degree. F. plus or minus 10.degree. F.
Horns for marine vessels from 5 meters in length up to 12 meters in length must be operable in a frequency of between 250 Hz and 1750 Hz. The horn should be capable of producing sound at the equivalent of 105 db at 1 meter from the sound source at an ambient temperature of 77.degree. F. plus or minus 10.degree. F. within an intermittent time cycle of 6 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 6 seconds on, 106 seconds off, for a period of 8 hours.
Horns for marine vessels from 12 meters to 20 meters in length must be operable in a frequency of 250 Hz and 700 Hz. The horn should be capable of producing sound at the equivalent of 120 db in at least one 1/3 octave band at 1 meter from the sound source, at an ambient temperature of 77.degree. F. plus or minus 10.degree. F. within an intermittent time cycle of 6 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 6 seconds on, 106 seconds off, for a period of 8 hours.
Historically, bow lights and horns have been separately installed. The bow lights are installed generally on the bow's deck surface and consist of a two toned lens (one-half green and one-half red) covering a single light source. Alternatively, bow lights can be mounted on the hull sidewalls near the bow using single tone lens (green on the starboard side and red on the port side) covering separate light sources. Horns mounted on the hull of a boat produce a sound which is emitted to the side versus the front of the boat or direction of travel. This can decrease the effectiveness of the horn. Horns are generally mounted on the bow deck surface near the boat windshield. They can, however, be mounted on the hull sidewall.
There are several drawbacks to the existing state of the art. First, modern boat building design leans toward very clean lines. Any interruption of those lines is undesirable. Thus, currently available horns and bow lights present limits to the design alternatives of boat designers.
A second drawback to the existing art is that horns are generally mounted above the deck surface. Thus, the working mechanism of a horn, while housed in a protective covering, is unnecessarily subjected to the elements. As a result, horns must be maintained, repaired and replaced more often than would be necessary if the working mechanism of the horn was installed below the deck surface and protected from the weather.
A third drawback to the existing art is that separate wiring systems are required for the horn and bow light. This increases the cost of both boat construction and maintenance over the cost of a single wiring system. Also, multiple wiring systems increase the likelihood of electrical shortage; this, of course, leads to, at best, malfunction, or possibly a fire or explosion.
A fourth drawback to the existing art is that by separately installing horns and bow lights, valuable deck surface is unnecessarily wasted.
There is need, therefore, for a marine horn and bow light combination which increases the aesthetic look of a boat, protects the horn's working mechanism from the environment, decreases the electrical wiring required to maintain both the horn and bow lights, increases usable deck space, and increases the safety and efficiency of the horn and bow lights. There is further need for a device offering these advantages while at the same time reducing the cost of installation, maintenance, and replacement of horns and bow lights.